Van Briggle Pottery, a Westside fixture for half a century, has found a new location in the south downtown area.

With the departure of Van Briggle Pottery and the gutting of the roundhouse interior, it's currently possible to look in through one arch and
out through another. This view gives a glimpse of the neighboring Ghost Town attraction.

Westside Pioneer photo

It's not ready for the public yet, but the new address is 1024 S. Tejon St.
Brittany Stevenson, part of the Van Briggle family ownership, said the target for opening is early February. She added that the move is not temporary. “We expect to
be there a while,” she said.
The new site is a 55-year-old retail building, about 6,500 square feet in size. That's less than a third of the space the pottery business had been using at the former
Midland roundhouse, 600 S. 21st St., where it made and sold art pottery for some 40 years.
Still unsure at the time where it would go, Van Briggle moved out of the roundhouse at the start of December. The departure was necessary to allow the previously
scheduled start of a major renovation project by the Griffis-Blessing development company. Work has since gutted the roundhouse; plans call for reconstruction to
preserve the exterior and turn the building into a multi-business commercial center. Tenant occupancy is expected by March or April.
The Stevensons had been seeking a smaller site, with the idea of a scaled-back operation focusing on art tiles. They had announced a desire to stay on the Westside if
suitable space could be found. One location that nearly became a reality was the west half of the former Surplus City building at 2752 W. Colorado Avenue. But a
final agreement could not be reached, and the 12,000-square-foot building has since been bought by a Michigan bookseller who plans to open for business this spring.
The Stevensons' Van Briggle Art Pottery Company continues to own the 3-acre roundhouse property; Griffis-Blessing is doing its work through a lease-purchase
arrangement.